Beverage container with integral crown cap remover



July 18, 1961 w. MARTINMAAS 2,992,574

BEVERAGE CONTAINER WITH INTEGRAL CROWN CAP REMOVER Filed March 18, 19592 Sheets-Sheet :1

W ww g July 18, 1961 w. MARTINMAAS 2, 2,574

BEVERAGE CONTAINER WITH INTEGRAL CROWN CAP REMOVER Filed March 18, 19592 Sheets-Sheet 2 dtate This invention relates to a beverage containerwhich has a specially constructed neck to receive a novel cam device forremoving a crown cap from said container, and to a container which isprovided with such a cam device.

Containers such as bottles and cans which are provided with a crown capare a great source of annoyance on account of the frequency with which aperson finds himself in possession of several containers of a beverage,but no opener for removing their crown caps. A person is particularlylikely to find himself in this predicament while fishing, hunting orpicnicking. The resulting efforts to remove the crown caps from thecontainers are likely to cause damage to other articles with whichremoval of the caps is attempted, or serious injury to the mouth orteeth if one is foolish enough to attempt to remove the caps in thatmanner.

In accordance with the present invention, the neck of a beveragecontainer is provided with an external bulge the top surface of whichafiords a substantially planar bearing surface which is spaced asufiicient distance below the edge of a crown cap on the container topermit a camrning device to be rocked on said bearing surface in a planewhich does not pass through the neck of the bottle, in order to cam thecap from. the bottle.

The particular advantage of the foregoing construction for the neck of acontainer is that it permits the crown cap to be removed by a cam devicewhich is formed in the outer surface of another beverage container. Eachcontainer is provided both with a specially constructed neck and with anintegral cam lug, so that any bottle may be used to open any otherbottle.

Since relative sliding movement between two glass surfaces graduallycauses roughening of both surfaces which is unsightly, and may beunsanitary, where the structures are incorporated in a re-usable bottleboth the bearing surface on the bottle neck and the cam device on thebottle are protected against such damage. Such protection may take theform of a coating on the bottle surfaces which abut when one bottle isbeing used to open another, or it may take the form of an arcuate recessin the hearing surface and a complementary arcuate rib on the hearingface of the cam device, to prevent relative sliding movement between thelug and the bearing surface.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred and an alternativeembodiment in the accompanying drawings as applied to a re-usablebottle, and in the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elovational view of a bottle constructed inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional View taken substantially asillustarted along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the neck and crowncap of one bottle and of the base and bottle opening means of anotherbottle, with said means in cap removing position;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially asillustrated along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially as illustrated along theline 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an alternative form of the device on anenlarged scale which is a fragmentary, longitudinal central section of abottle which is being opened, together with a fragmentary transversesection atent of a second bottle which is being used to remove the crowncap from the first bottle;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a bottle provided withthe alternative improved neck and cam device construction; and

FIG. 8 is a section taken substantially as illustrated along the line 88of FIG. 7, with a fragmentary broken line illustration of the otherbottle in the position which it occupies when being used to remove acrown cap fiom the first bottle.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and refer ring first to theform of the device illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive, a bottle B1has a neck 10 at the upper end of which is a bead 11 to receive aconventional crown cap 12. Below the head 11 is a bulge 13 which is seento have a recess 14 formed in one side so that the recessed portion ofthe bulge provides a substantially planar bearing surface 15 which isspaced below head 11 and the lower edge 12a of crown cap 12. As bestseen in FIGS. 2 and 4, recess 15 also has a generally upright, arcuateinner face 16 which is outwardly inclined from bottom to top and iswholly inside the arc of the crimps 12b in crown cap 12. Intermediatethe ends of bearing surface 15 is an upright interlocking rib 17 theouter surface of which conveniently has the surface conformity of bulge13. Additionally, bearing surface 15 may be provided with a surfacecoating 15a to minimize damage to the bearing surface. It is also to benoted that bearing surface '15 inclines downwardly from its inner marginadjacent upright face 16 to its outer edge, for a purpose which will bedescribed in detail hereafter.

Recess 14 in bulge 13 is adapted to receive a cam device which may berocked upon bearing surface 15 to apply force to the lower edge 12a ofcrown cap 12 to open the crimps 12b and thus remove the cap from thebottle. Preferably bottle B1 is provided in its base portion 18 with asuitable cam device, indicated generally at 19, so that the cam deviceon one bottle may be used to remove the cap from another similar bottle.

Cam device 19 is formed in the outer surface of the base portion 18 ofbottle B1, and is seen to include a recess 20 at the lower port-ion ofwhich is a circumferentially extending cam lug 21 intermediate the endsof which is an interengaging notch 22 which is complementary tointerengaging rib 17 of recess 14. Extending upwardly from cam lug 21 isan arcuate inner face 23 which is seen in FIG. 2 to be inclinedoutwardly from its bottom, adjacent lug 21, to its top.

As seen in FIG. 3, which shows the cam device 19 of one bottle in capremoving position in recess 14 of another bottle, the lower face 21a ofcam lug 21 seats upon bearing surface 15 in bulge 13, and interlockingnotch 22 is engaged with interengaging rib 17 to prevent the cam lugfrom slipping laterally on the bearing surface. In this position it isseen that inclined inner face 23 of recess 20 affords a clearance forthe crimps 12b of cap 12, and cap engaging top face 24 of cam lug 21 isimmediately beneath the lower edge 12a of crown cap 12. The inclineddisposition of bearing surface 15 permits cap engaging top face 24 toengage behind the margins of crimps 12b and remove the cap from thebottle by rocking action of cam lug 21 on bearing surface 15 whichspreads the crimps to minimize damage to head 11. Thus, it is seen thatbottom surface 21a of cam lug 21 provides a bearing face which iscomplementary to bearing surface 15, while upper face 24 of cam lug 21provides a cap engaging face in spaced relationship to said bearingface.

Although recess 20 of cam device 19 is shown in the drawings asoccupying only a relatively small portion of the circumference of thebottle, it is obvious that the recess could extend around the entirecircumference of the base portion 18, in which event there could be acontinuous series of cam lugs 21, and a plurality of spacedinterengaging notches 22awhichxwould form a scalloped decorative borderaround-the'base of the bottle.

Referring now to the alternative form of the device,

illustrated. in FIGS. .6 to 8, it will be seen that the neck structureis only slightly modified from that in the preferred form. A bottle B2has a neck 110 at the upper end of which is a bead 11 1 to receive aconventional crown cap "12. Below bead 111 is a bulge 113 which has arecess 114 formed in one side so that the recessed portion of bulge 113provides a substantially planar bearing surface 115 which is spacedbelow bead 11 1 and the lower edge 12a of crown cap 12. Recess 14 alsohas a generally upright, arcuate inner face 116 which is seen in FIG. 6to be outwardly inclined from bottom to top, and said arcuate face iswholly inside the arc of the crimps 12b in crown cap 12. As best seen inFIG. 7, bearing surface 115 has an arcuate interengaging notch 117 andeither additionally or alternatively may be provided with a surfacecoating 115a to minimize damage to the bearing surface. It is also to benoted that bearing surface 115 inclines downwardly from its inner marginadjacent upright face 116 to its outer edge, for a purpose which will bedescribed in detail hereafter.

Formed on the outer surface of the bottle, preferably on the neckimmediately below bulge 113, is an integral cam lug, indicated generallyat 120. Cam lug 120 has a bearing face 121 which is adapted to seat uponbearing surface 115 of recess 114, a cap engaging face 122 which isparallel to hearing face 121, arcuate ends 123 which are segments ofcircles, and a concave outer face 124 the radius of curvature of whichis at least as great as that of the arcuate upright face 116 of recess114. Formed on bearing face 121 is an arcuate interengaging rib 125which is complementary to arcuate interengaging notch 1117 of bearingsurface 115; and the width of lug 126) between bearing face 121 and capengaging face 122 is such. that the lug may be inserted in recess 114between said bearing face and the lower edge 12a of crown cap 12, withrib 122 positioned in complementary notch 117.

When lug 120 is inserted in recess 114 as above described, cap 12 isremoved from bottle B3 by relative rocking movement between the twobottles B2 and B3 in a plane which does not intersect the neck 1 of B2.The inclined disposition of bearing surface 115 permits cap engagingface 122 of cam lug 120 to engage inside the crimps 12b of cap 12, sothat it spreads the crimps, and cams the cap over bead 111 withoutplacing any breaking strain on the bead.

The interengagement between rib 122 and notch 117 prevents relativesliding movement between the two bottles which could cause damage tobearing surface 115 or hearing face 121 of lug 121). Preferably, lug1219 is also provided with a protective coating 1211a which likewiseserves to prevent surface damage to the lug, either on hearing face 121or on cap engaging face 122. As previously pointed out with respect tobearing surface 115- and notch 117, rib 122 on cam lug 120 may beomitted, so that only the protective coating 120a is available toprevent damage to the lug surface.

As illustrated in the drawings, lug 121) has its bearing face 121 andcap engaging face 122 parallel to the center line of a bottle, so thatwhen a bottle B3 is used to remove the cap from a bottle E2 the twobottles are at right angles to each other. It is obvious that lug 120could equally well be arranged crosswise of the axis of the bottle, inwhich event the cap removing operation would be performed with the axesof the two bottles parallel.

The relationship of concave outer face 124 of lug 120 to arcuate uprightsurface 116 of recess 114- is best seen in FIG. 8, from which it isclear that recess 114 could perfectly well be formed with a flat uprightsurface 116, in which case the wall of neck would be flattened on theinside to avoid a weak spot in the bottle neck. In this event, outerface 124 of cam lug could also be flat rather than concave. Concavity ofsurface 24 of the cam lug should be suflicient that cap engaging face 22bears upon a substantial portion of the edge 12a of crown cap 12 whenthe camming action is applied to it.

Cam lug 120' is illustrated on the bottle neck, although it could bepositioned any place on the bottle. However, it must be in such alocation that it does not interfere with the handling of the bottle inordinary bottle. handling or bottle capping equipment.

The foregoing detailed description is given for-clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limita-v tions should beunderstood therefrom, as some modificatioos will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a beverage container having a body and a neck which terminates ina bead to receive a crown cap, in combination: an external bulge belowsaid bead, said bulge having a generally planar, upwardly facing bearingsurface spaced below said bead; and an integral, ex-

ternal cam lug on said container, said cam lug having.

a bearing face complementary to the bearing surface of another identicalcontainer, and having a cap engaging face in spaced relationship to saidbearing face, whereby said lug may be rocked on the bearing surface ofsaid other container to cam a crown cap from said other container.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the cam lug is interengaging rib andnotch means to prevent relative sliding movement between the containers.

5. The device of claim 1 in which the bearing face of the cam lug andthe cap engaging face of said lug are connected by short faces which aresegments of a circle,-

and the lug is adapted to rock on the bearing surface in a plane whichdoes not intersect the neck of the other container.

6. In a beverage container having a body and a neck which terminates ina bead to receive a crown cap, in combination: an external bulge belowsaid bead, said bulge having a generally planar, upwardly facing bearingsurface spaced below said head; and an integral, external cam lug onsaid container, said cam lug having a bearing face complementary to thebearing surface of another identical container, and having a capengaging face in spaced relationship to said bearing face, the angulardisposition of the bearing surface and of the cap engaging face beingsuch that with the bearing face on the bearing surface of said othercontainer a portion of the cap engaging face is at an acute angle to thetop of the other container and inside the maximum circumference of thebead, whereby said lug may be rocked on the bearing surface of saidother container to cam a crown cap from said other container by outwardand upward pressure on the lower margin of the cap.

7. In a beverage container having a body and a neck which terminates ina head to receive a crown cap, in combination: an external bulge belowsaid bead, said bulge having a generally planar, upwardly facing bearingsurface spaced below said bead; and an integral, external cam lug onsaid container, said lug having a bearing-face complementary to thebearing surface of another identical container, a cap engaging face inspaced relationship to said bearing face, and arcuate ends joining saidfaces,

whereby said lug may be rocked on the bearing surface of said othercontainer in a plane which does not intersect the neck of the othercontainer, to cam a crown cap from said other container, said bearingsurface and said cam lug being provided with means to minimize damage tothe container resulting from relative movement between the bearingsurface and the cam lug.

8. The device of claim 7 in which the means to minimize damage comprisesa surface coating on the bearing surface and a surface coating on thebearing face of the cam lug so that relative sliding movement betweenthe surface and the lug can damage neither.

9. The device of claim 7 in which the means to minimize damage comprisesan arcuate notch in the bearing surface and a complementary arcuate ribon the bearing face of the lug, so that when said lug is rocked on thebearing surface of another identical bottle the rib engages the grooveto prevent relative sliding movement between said lug and said bearingsurface.

10. In a beverage container having a body and a neck which terminates ina bead to receive a crown cap, in combination: an external bulge belowsaid bead, said bulge having a generally planar, upwardly facing bearingsurface spaced below said head, and the surface of the container neckbetween said bearing surface and the bead being an arc of a circle; andan integral, external cam lug on said container, said lug having abearing face complementary to the bearing surface of another identicalcontainer, a cap engaging face spaced from said bearing face, and aconcave outer face the radius of curvature of which is no less than thatof the surface of the container neck between the bearing surface and thebead, whereby said lug may be rocked on the bearing surface of saidother container to cam a crown cap from said other bottle.

11. In a beverage container, means for removing a crown cap from theneck of a crown capped beverage container which has an external bulgeproviding a generally planar, upwardly facing bearing surface spacedbelow the edge of the crown cap, said means comprising: an integralexternal cam lug on said beverage container, said cam lug having abearing face adapted to bear on the bearing surface of the crown cappedcontainer, and a crown cap engaging face in spaced relationship to saidbearing face, and said lug being dimensioned to fit in the space betweensaid surface and said crown cap, whereby said lug may be rocked on saidbearing surface to cam the crown cap from said container.

12. In a re-usable beverage bottle, means for removing a crown cap fromthe neck of a crown capped beverage container which has an externalbulge providing a generally planar, upwardly facing bearing surfacespaced below the edge of the crown cap, said means comprising: aninwardly inclined surface in the bottom portion of the side wall of thebottle, said surface defining the inner face of a recess; and anoutwardly projecting cam lug in the lower portion of said recess, saidlug having a lower bearing face adapted to bear on the bearing surfaceof the container, and an upper cap engaging face in spaced relationshipto said lower face and said lug being dimensioned to fit in the spacebetween said surface and said crown cap, whereby said lug may be rockedon said bearing surface to cam said crown cap from said container.

13. In a beverage container, means for removing a crown cap from theneck of a crown capped beverage container which has an external bulgeproviding a generally planar, upwardly facing bearing surface spacedbelow the edge of the crown cap, said means comprising: an integralexternal cam lug on said beverage container, said cam lug having abearing face adapted to bear on the bearing surface of the crown cappedcontainer, a crown cap engaging face substantially parallel to saidbearing face, and arcuate ends joining said faces, and said lug beingdimensioned to fit in the space between said surface and said crown cap,whereby said lug may be rocked on said surface in a plane which does notintersect the neck of said crown capped container to cam the crown capfrom said container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,814,638 Schofield July 14, 1931 2,322,843 Deane June 29, 19432,340,353 Weaver Feb. 1, 1944 2,547,059 Taylor et a1. Apr. 3, 19512,745,301 Greenwald May 15, 1956

